Ladle maintenance safety cage



Dec. 17, 1957 J. H. REIGHART LADLE MAINTENANCE SAFETY CAGE Filed April 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 II JXI II a uvmvrox 7 June 9W;

ATTORNEYS Dec. 17, 1957 J, le -r 2,816,335

LADLE MAINTENANCE SAFETY CAGE Filed April 16, 1956 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 mmynm Jane ILRagluzr ATTORAEYS LADLE MAINTENANCE SAFETY CAGE June H. Reighart, Cleveland, Ohio- Application April 16, 1956', Serial No. 578,328"

6 Ciaims. (Cl..22--85.)=

The invention relates. to cagesradapted to' be temporarily placed Within a ladle, such as; is used for receiving molten metal from an open hearth or'e lectric' furnace and pouring the same into ingot molds or the like, the cage being designed to shield the workman from the intense refractory material, and is used as avalve, being closed;

by inserting therein the end ofa stopper rod', which extends up to the top of the ladle and isconnected to-agooseneck, through which. the stopper rod is raised out of engagement with the nozzle when-it is desired to open the nozzle to discharge molten metal from the'l'adleintoa mold.

This stopper rod isprovided'with a graphites-topper-at its lower end, and the entire length of the rod is lined with refractory material. Both the refractory nozzle-and: the refractory lining of the stopper rod burn out and must be-replaced after each heat is -poured. Because the ladle is extremely hot from the previousheati of: metal, several hours time is required, under" ordinary steel: mill practice, to permitthe ladle to cool sufficiently toz allow a: manto enter into the ladle to. replace the? nozzle.- and. stopper rod.

'I-lie ladle is thus kept out of use: for a considerable: period of time, and when it is: finally in condition. for receiving another heat from a furnace, itihas. cooled to; such an extent that: it frequently has-: at had: effect; upon; the molten, steel or alloy which iszpouredi intoithe: ladle, quickly chilling the metal-which contacts the walls: OfTthG. ladle; and often causing the loss: of; many tons; of metal whichhardens aroundthe walls of the ladle beforeit can bepoured therefrom.

It is; therefore, an object; of: the, invention; tot provide: a ladle: maintenance safety cagezfor overcomingthe; above.- mentioned disadvantages and difliculties.

Another. object isttoprovidesuch a. cage whichmay be placed. within a. hot. ladle, as. soon. as the. molten metal has. been poured. therefrom and. into which a, workman may enter immediately to remove the damaged'nozzle andstopper rod and replace the same.

A further. objectisto provide a ladle maintenance cage of this character'which' will protectthe workman from the intense heatof the l'adle, andi n which a down-draftwill be induced to contribute to the comfort of the workman.

A still furtherobject' is to v provide a; cage; of; the. type referred tohavinggastopperrod setting. wellllocated in one-sidethereof and communieatingzatt its lower endiwith: at bottom. openingthrough which the: workmam may replace: the nozzle.

Another object of the invention is to provide: such a ladle maintenance cage having aplatform located at an,

intermediate point therein, for supporting aworkmanin position to reset the stopper rod.

A. further object is to provide a cage of this character, having a ladder leading from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, and a shorter ladder leadingfrom the stopper rod setting platform to the top of the cage.

A still further object is to provide. a ladle maintenance cage of the type referred to, having a hingeddoor upon,

the stopper rod setting well, and means for latching said doo-r in either. open or, closed position.

It is also an object of the invention to provide such a.

cage having a hinged cover upon the top of thedoor on the stopper rodsetting well.

Another object is to provide a cage of this type having. an approach platform extending radially from the top, of" the cage and communicating at its inner end with the short ladder, and having means at its outer. end for attaching a ladder by which a workmanmay climb up from the floor to the approach platform.

The above and other objects, apparent from the drawings andfollowing description, may be attained, the above described difliculties overcome and the advantages and results obtained, by the apparatus, construction, arrangement'and combinations, subcombinations-and parts which comprise the present invention, a preferred embodiment of which, illustrative of the best modein which applicant has: contemplated applying the principle, being setforth, in detail in the following description and illustrated-in the accompanying drawings.

In general terms the invention may be described as comprising a ladle maintenance safety cage int-he formof a steel shell shaped to fit within a ladle, and} having flanged edges. for supporting a refractory lining therein.

Means is provided upon the cage for lifting the same i'nt'o and; out. of. a.ladle..

Astopper rod setting wellisprovided in one' side of the cage, extending from. the top of the cage'to the bottom: thereof, and communicating at: its lower end with a bot tom: opening. through. which the Workmanmay haveaccess to the nozzle of the ladle for removing the old nozzle. and. replacing. the same.

A hinged door. is provided upon.- this well, extending from? a point near the lower end thereof to a point spaced from; the; top: of the ladle, with means for: la'tc'hing the Upon. thetop door i113 both: open. and closed positions. of the door is. a.hinged.' cover which may: be latched inhorizontal. position across an intermediate point" in the well.

At. a point spaced below the top of the: cage, a: platformds-located within the cagefor supporting. a! workmanin position to: reset thestopper' rod. and attach it to: thegooseneck upon the ladle, a short ladder leading from this platform to the top of the. cage.- At: this: point; an approachplatform extends outwardly from the top of the ladle, provided: with hand rails, and? having meansat its outer end for hooking the upper end. of a. ladder means of which the Workman may reach. the approach platform.

Another ladder" is located against'the: inner: wall of the cage, and leads to the bottom ofi the cage, sQthat'the' workman may descend to the, bottom of thec'age tomeset:

the: nozzle.

By; way of example, a preferred embodiment of the Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional view of the ladle maintenance cage located within a ladle;

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary, vertical sectional view of an intermediate portion of the cage, showing the upper portion of the access door, with the hinged cover at the top of the door shown in closed position, closing the lower end of the stopper rod setting well;

Fig. 4 is a perspective view looking down into the top of the cage, showing the access door in open position; and

Fig. 5 is a transverse sectional view through the cage located within a ladle, taken as on the line 55, Fig. 2.

Referring now to the drawings, in which similar parts are designated by similar numerals throughout the several views, a conventional ladle for molten metal is shown, comprising an outer metallic shell 1th and an inner refractory lining 11, upon the side walls and bottom of the ladle.

The ladle is provided with the usual refractory nozzle 12, located through the bottom wall of the ladle adjacent a side wall thereof, as in usual and well known practice. The usual stopper rod, for closing the nozzle 12, is indicated generally at 13, and extends vertically through the ladle from the top to the bottom thereof. As is usual practice, this stopper rod may comprise a metal rod 14, having the conical stopper 15, of graphite or the like, attached to its lower end, the entire length of the metal rod 14, within the ladle, being protected by refractory lining members or spools 16 strong upon the metal rod.

The upper end of the stopper rod is adapted to be attached to the usual gooseneck 17, the outer end of which is attached to the vertical sliding rod 18, slidable within the tubular guide 18a, and adapted to be raised by the manually operated lever 19, for lifting the stopper rod out of engagement with the nozzle 12, in order to discharge molten metal from the ladle.

All of the above may be of conventional ladle construction, and form no part of the present invention, which is concerned only with the ladle maintenance cage by means of which the conventional nozzle and stopper rod of the ladle may be removed and replaced in a minimum of time, and with complete comfort and safety for the workman immediately after a heat has been discharged from the ladle.

Reference is now made to the improved ladle maintenance safety cage forming the subject matter of the invention. This cage comprises a substantially cylindrical metallic cage 20 of substantially the same height as the ladle, and of proper diameter to permit lowering the cage into the ladle, as best shown in Fig. 2.

A vertical stopper rod setting well 21 is formed in one side of the shell and extends from the top to a point substantially midway of the shell, and an access door 22 is located directly beneath the well and terminates at a point spaced from the bottom of the cage.

The door opening is of the same width as the well,

and is continued to the bottom of the cage, providing a nozzle well as indicated at 23, where it communicates with the working notch 24 in the bottom af the cage, said opening being located below and in alignment with the stopper rod setting well. The access door is hinged at one side of the door opening, as indicated at 25, and provides for placing clay, nozzles, tools, etc., in the cage while the cage is on the pit floor, and before it is placed within the ladle. Thus, the workman has nothing to carry with him, into or out of the cage in order to perform his work in replacing the nozzle and stopper rod in the ladle.

This door swings inward to open position entirely clearing the stopper rod setting well, and is provided at its swinging edge with latch means 26 for latching it in either closed or open position. Thus the door, when open, forms no obstruction within the cage, which might interfere with the removal of the burned-out stopper rod or the setting of a new stopper rod in the ladle.

A cover 27 is hinged to the upper edge of the door 22, as indicated at 28, and normally hangs folded against the inside of the door, as shown in Figs. 4 and 5. This cover 27 is adapted to be extended, in horizontal position, closing the lower end of the stopper rod setting well 21, as shown in Figs. 1 and 3, when the door 22 is in closed position. Latch means 29 is provided for holding the cover 27 in this extended position.

An inturned, angular flange 30 is provided at the upper end of the metal shell 20 of the cage, and also extends around the upper end of the well 21. Similar flanges 31 and 32 respectively are provided at the lower end of the well 21, and around the door opening and nozzle Well 23 and working notch 24, forming brick-retaining flanges around all openings of the shell, to provide for the installation of a light-weight insulating brick lining within the shell, as indicated at 33.

In order to provide safe entrance and exit for the workman, to and from the interior of the cage, an approach platform 34 is attached to the upper end of the cage and extends radially therefrom, as shown in Figs. 1 and 4.

Hand rails 35 are located on each side of the approach platform, at suitable height to be grasped by a workman walking upon said platform. A grab bar 36 is located at the outer end of the platform for engagement by hooks or the like on the upper end of a ladder which may be placed upon the tapping platform of the steel plant, to permit the workman to climb up to the approach platform of the cage.

A bail 37 may be located at the open upper end of the cage, for engagement by the hook of a crane, to perm-it a craneman to pick up the cage from the pit floor, or other location, and place it within the ladle. The cage should be positioned within the ladle as shown in Figs. 2 and 5, with the stopper rod 13 of the ladle received in the stopper rod well 21, and the nozzle well 23 and working notch 24 located around the ladle nozzle 12, so that the workman located upon the floor of the cage may have easy access to the nozzle 12 and adjacent portion of the ladle, through said nozzle well 23 and working notch 24.

A stopper rod setting platform 38 is located within the cage at a suitable height therein to permit a workman standing on the platform to disconnect the old burned out stopper rod from the gooseneck 17 and attach a new stopper rod thereto. This platform extends about halfway across the cage from the side thereof to which the approach platform 34 is attached, and terminates at a point spaced from the opposite side of the cage.

A hand-rail 39 is located across the upper portion of the cage, on the side thereof opposite to the stopper rod setting well 21, and at a suitable height above the platform 38 convenient to a workman standing upon said platform. A short ladder 40 is attached to the inner wall of the cage and extends down from the inner end of the approach platform 34 to the stopper rod setting platform 38.

At a point diametrically opposite to the short ladder 40, a long ladder 41 is mounted upon the inner wall of the cage and extends from the open upper end of the cage to the bottom wall thereof.

A hand-rail 42 is located within the cage adjacent to the upper portion of the ladder 41 and upon the opposite side thereof from the hand-rail 39. The hand-rail 42 extends from the inner wall of the cage to the adjacent wall of the stopper rod setting well 21.

In using the above described cage, the necessary tools and materials are placed within the cage, through the access door 22. The cage is then picked up by a crane and lowered into the ladle, being positioned therein so that the nozzle well 23 and working notch 24 of the amazes cage expose the nozzle area of the ladle therethrough, as shown inFigs. 2- and 5.

The workman may then hook the upper end of a ladder onto the grab bar 36, at the outer end of the approach platform 34, and enter the cage by climbing such ladder and then walking over the approach platform and climbing down the short ladder 40, onto the stopper rod setting platform 38.

While standing on the platform. 38, the workman then disconnects the old, burned out stopper rod from the gooseneck 17, and the old stopper rod is removed by the crane. Thenthe workman steps from the: platform 38, onto the long ladder 41, and descends the. same to the bottom of the cage, where he may then close and latch the access door 22, from the interior of the cage, in order to further protect himself from the intense heat of the ladle atthis point. As a further protection against the heat of theladle, the workman may swing the cover 2"! up intov horizontal position, closing the lower end of the stopper-rod set ting well 21, as indicated in Fig. l.

The workman in. the bottom of the cage is thus completely protected from the heat of the ladle, and in actual.

practice it has been found that there is thus a downdraft of air through the cage, so that the workman within the cageis actually cooler in this position than when out in the slag pit or up on the tapping platform.

Thus, the workman may work in complete comfort while removing the burned out nozzle from the ladle and cementing a new nozzle therein. Upon completion of his work upon the nozzle, the workman drops the cover 27 into folded position against the inside of the access door 22, and unlatches and opens said door, swinging it back so that it entirely clears the well as shown in Fig. 5.

Then theworkman climbs the ladder :1 to the stopper rod setting platform 38. The craneman then lowers .a new stopper rod into the cage and the workman within the cage sets the new stopper rod and connects it to the gooseneck 17, from his completely safe and comfortable position on the platform 38, and his work is completed.

After the workman has climbed the short ladder 40 and departed from the cage, via the platform 34, the craneman may lift the cage from within the ladle, and the ladle, which is still but from the previous heat of metal, is again ready for use, since the ladle nozzle was replaced under conditions of high ladle temperature,

so that the new nozzle cement will dry almost immediately.

It will thus be apparent that. this improved ladle maintenance safety cage overcomes the disadvantages and difficulties of usual practice in replacing burned out nozzles and stopper-rods inladles, permitting these repairs to be made immediately after pouring steel from the ladle, without the necessity of any cooling oif period, and with complete comfort and safety for the workman. Thus a ladle may be returned to use only a few minutes after a heat has been poured; therefrom, and while it is still hot enough to have no deleterious effect upon hot metal which may again be poured into it from a furnace.

While I have illustrated and described particular embodiments of-the-invention, further modifications and improvements willoccur tothose skilled in the art. I desire it to be understood, therefore, that the invention is not to be limited to the embodiment shown and I intend in the appended claims to cover all modifications which do not depart from the true spirit and scope of the invention, and the elements of such claims are intended to include reasonable equivalents.

In the foregoing description, certain terms have been used for brevity, clearness and understanding, but no unnecessary limitations are to be implied therefrom beyond the requirements of the prior art, because such words are used for descriptive purposes herein and are intended to be broadly construed.

Moreover, the embodiments of the improved construction illustrated and described herein are by way of ex- '6 ample, and the scope of the present invention is not limited to the exact details of construction.

Having now described the invention or discovery, the construction, the operation, and use of preferred embodiments thereof, and the advantageous new and useful results obtained thereby; the new and useful constructions, and reasonable mechanical equivalents thereof obvious to those skilled in the art, are set forth in the appended claims.

I claim:

1. A ladle maintenance safety cage for protecting a human operator from the heat of a ladle used for molten metal and having a nozzle in its bottom and a stopper rod controlling said nozzle, said cage comprising a steel shell adapted to be inserted into the ladle, a heat insulation lining Within said shell, there being a vertical opening in one side of the cage extending from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, a stopper rod setting well in said one side of the cage and adapted to accommodate the stopper rod in the ladle, said well extending from the top of the cage to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and comprising spaced vertical side walls extending inwardly from the opposite edges of said vertical opening and a vertical back wall connected to the inner edges of said side walls, the lower portion of said vertical opening forming an access door opening extending from the lower end of said well to the bottom of the cage, an access door hingedly mounted in said door opening, said access door extending from the lower end of the well to a point spaced above the bottom of the cage, there being a working notch in the bottom of the cage communicating with the lower end of said vertical opening and providing means through which a human operator within the cage may have access to the nozzle in the ladle.

2. A ladle maintenance safety cage for protecting a human operator from the heat of a ladle used for molten metal and having a nozzle in its bottom and a stopper rod controlling said nozzle, said cage comprising a steel shell adapted to be inserted into the ladle, a heat insulation lining within said shell, there being a vertical opening in one side of the cage extending from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, a stopper rod setting well in said one side of the cage and adapted to accommodate the stopper rod in the ladle, said well extending from the top of the cage to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and comprising spaced vertical side walls extending inwardly from opposite edges of said vertical opening and a vertical back Wall connected to the inner edges of said side walls, the lower portion of said vertical opening forming an access door opening extending from the lower end of said well to the bottom of the cage, anaccess door hingedly mounted in said door opening, saidaccessdoor extending from the lower end of the well to a point spaced above the bottom of the cage, a hinged cover on the top of said door adapted to be swung upward to horizontal position to close the-lower end of said well, there being a working notch in the bottom ofthe cage communicating with the lower end of said vertical opening and providing means through which. a

human operator within the cage:may li'aveaccess to'the" nozzle in the ladle.

3. A ladle maintenance safety cage for protecting a human operator from the heat of a ladle used for molten metal and having a nozzle in its bottom and a stopper rod controlling said nozzle, said cage comprising a steel shell adapted to be inserted into the ladle, a'heat insulation lining within said shell, there being a vertical opening in one side of the cage extending from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, a stopper rod setting well in said one side of the cage and adapted to accommodate the stopper rod in the ladle, said well extending from the top of the cage to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and comprising spaced vertical side walls extending inwardly from opposite edges of saidvertical opening and a vertical back wall connected to the inner edges of said side walls, the lower portion of said vertical opening forming an access door opening extending from the lower end of said well to the bottom of the cage, an access door hingedly mounted in said door opening, said access door extending from the lower end of the well to a point spaced above the bottom of the cage, a hinged cover on the top of said door adapted to be swung upward to horizontal position to close the lower end of said well, a horizontal platform within the cage adjacent to said well at a point below the top of the cage to permit a human operator standing upon said platform to. have access to the upper end of the stopper rod, there being a working notch in the bottom of the cage communicating with the lower end of said vertical opening and providing means through which a human operator within the cage may have access to the nozzle in the ladle.

4. A ladle maintenance safety cage for protecting a human operator from the heat of a ladle used f or molten metal. and having a nozzle in its bottom and a stopper rod controlling said nozzle, said cage comprising a steel shell adapted to be inserted into the ladle, a heat insulation lining within said shell, there being a vertical opening in one side of the cage extending from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, a stopper rod setting well in said one side of the cage and adapted to accommodate the stopper rod in the ladle, said well extending from the top of the cage to a point spaced from the bottom there of, and comprising spaced vertical side walls extending inwardly from opposite edges of said vertical opening and a vertical back wall connected to the inner edges of said side walls, the lower portion of said vertical opening forming an access door opening extending from the lower end of said well to the bottom of the cage, an access door hingedly mounted in said door opening, said access door extending from the lower end of the well to a point spaced above the bottom of the cage, a hinged cover on the top of said, door adapted to be swung upward to horizontal position to close the lower end of said well, a horizontal platform within the cage adjacent to said well at a point below the top of the cage to permit a human operator standing upon said platform to have access to the upper end of the stopper rod, a ladder connected to the inner wall of the cage and extending from said horizontal platform to the top of the cage, there being a working notch in the bottom of the cage communicating with the lower end of said vertical opening and providing means through which a human operator within the cage may have access to the nozzle in the ladle.

5. A ladle maintenance safety cage for protecting a human operator from the heat of a ladle used for molten metal and having a nozzle in its bottom and a stopper rod controlling said nozzle, said cage comprising a steel shell adapted to be inserted into the ladle, a heat insulation lining within said shell, there being a vertical opening in one side of the cage extending from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, a stopper rod setting well in said one side of the cage and adapted to accommodate the stopper rod in the ladle, said well extending from the top of the cage to a point spaced from the bottom thereof,

and comprising spaced vertical side walls extending inwardly from opposite edges of said vertical opening and a vertical back wall connected to the inner edges of said side walls, the lower portion of said vertical opening forming an access door opening extending from the lower end of said well to the bottom of the cage, an access door hingedly mounted in said door opening, said access door extending from the lower end of the well to a point spaced above the bottom of the cage, a hinged cover on the top of said door adapted to be swung upward to horizontal position to close the lower end of said well, a horizontal platform within the cage adjacent to said well at a point below the top of the cage to permit a human operator standing upon said platform to have access to the upper end of the stopper rod, an approach platform extending radially outward from one side of the top of the cage to a position adapted to overhang a side of the ladle, a ladder connected to the inner wall of the cage and extending from said horizontal platform to said approach platform, there being a working notch in the bottom of the cage communicating with the lower end of said vertical opening and providing means through which a human operator within the cage may have access to the nozzle in the ladle.

6. A ladle maintenance safety cage for protecting a human operator from the heat of a ladle used for molten metal and having a nozzle in its bottom and a stopper rod controlling said nozzle, said cage comprising a steel shell adapted to be inserted into the ladle, a heat insulation lining within said shell, there being a vertical opening in one side of the cage extending from the top of the cage to the bottom thereof, a stopper rod setting well in said one side of the cage and adapted to accommodate the stopper rod in the ladle, said well extending from the top of the cage to a point spaced from the bottom thereof, and comprising spaced vertical side walls extending inwardly from opposite edges of said vertical opening and a vertical back wall connected to the inner edges of said side walls, the lower portion of said vertical opening forming an access door opening extending from the lower end of said well to the bottom of the cage, an access door hingedly mounted in said door opening, said access door extending form the lower end of the well to a point spaced above the bottom of the cage, there being a working notch in the bottom of the cage communicating with the lower end of said vertical opening and providing means through which a human operator within the cage may have access to the nozzle in the ladle, and inwardly disposed flanges on said steel shell at the top of the shell and at the top and bottom of the stopper rod well and at the sides of said vertical opening below the stopper rod well and around the edges of said working notch for supporting said insulation lining.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,321,583 Allderdice Nov. 11, 1919 1,578,474 Shawl Mar. 30, 1926 2,087,054 Wallace July 13, 1937 

